Microsoft faces Xbox 360 class action lawsuit

A Florida man has filed a $5 million federal class-action lawsuit against Microsoft this week, claiming that the Xbox 360 was "negligently designed and manufactured" and that a defect in the console causes it to scratch game discs and make them unusable.

Jorge Brouwer filed the suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after his Xbox 360 scratched two video games discs he bought for $50 each. Microsoft has offered to replace scratched discs for a $20 fee, provided the games were made by Microsoft, yet they refuse to replace or provide any compensation for any scratched game discs made by third-parties.

In his lawsuit, Brouwer claims to have received thousands of complaints from U.S. Xbox users who have had game discs damaged, and is asking the court to order Microsoft to pay for damages, including replacing damaged discs and repairing defective consoles.

The news comes shortly after the company said it would set aside more than $1 billion to extend the warranty for the Xbox 360 consoles that completely stop working due to a vague condition the company calls "general hardware failure."